Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-42070

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 November 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 5 December 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how many empty homes there currently are in the West Scotland region.

Question reference: S6W-41837

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government when it will bring the A75 and A77 up to the standard required for major freight traffic to Cairnryan Port.

The A75 and A77 are vital components of Scotland’s strategic trunk road network, providing essential links between Cairnryan Port and the wider UK and European markets. Both routes are designed to higher standards than local roads, with features that support durability, safety, and resilience.

The South West Scotland Transport Study (2020) highlighted their economic importance: the A75 west of Dumfries carries goods worth around £20 million daily, while the A77 south of Ayr carries £10 million daily, the highest HGV proportions in the region.

Since 2008, significant investment has been made:

A75: Six major schemes, including alignment upgrades, overtaking lanes, and the Dunragit Bypass, totalling over £50 million.

A77: Five major improvements, including the £29 million Maybole Bypass opened in 2022, totalling £64 million.

Maintenance spend since 2007 has been substantial, £173.1 million on the A75 and £146.7 million on the A77, with further allocations in 2024/25 of £20.8 million and £12.5 million respectively. Upcoming works include resurfacing, drainage, and targeted upgrades.

Looking ahead, Recommendation 40 of STPR2 commits to further improvements in safety, resilience, and reliability on both routes. This will include enhanced junctions, additional overtaking opportunities, and carriageway widening or realignment to address pinch points.

A75: Design and assessment work to consider options for realigning the A75 trunk road with bypasses at the villages of Springholm and Crocketford is underway and proceeding at pace. This work will culminate in the identification of a preferred route option for the scheme in early 2027.

A77: Work is underway to further develop and prioritise locations on the A77on the single carriageway section south of Ayr identified as part of STPR2 Recommendation 40. This will include further business case development and stakeholder involvement in this process.

This demonstrates the Scottish Government’s ongoing commitment to ensuring these critical corridors meet the needs of major freight traffic and support Scotland’s economic connectivity.

Question reference: S6W-41825

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 19 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has conducted into labour shortages in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders, and what steps it is taking to reverse depopulation trends in rural South of Scotland communities.

Skills Development Scotland publish annual Regional Skills Assessments (RSAs), which provide detailed information on regional labour markets. The latest RSA for the South of Scotland region was published in October 2025.

Through delivery of our Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, £30,000 was provided to Dumfries & Galloway Council with £30,000 in 2024-25 to undertake research into the local drivers of depopulation. The local authority has also received a total of £120,000 across 2024-25 and 2025-26 to scope and deliver locally-led depopulation interventions, including increasing local economic opportunities as a key priority.

We continue to engage closely with local authorities through the jointly chaired SG/COSLA Population Roundtable and our Population Programme Board includes representation from both COSLA and South of Scotland Enterprise, to ensure we are collaboratively addressing local depopulation trends.

Question reference: S6W-41654

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Siobhian Brown on 18 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported proposals to reduce wholetime firefighter posts in Inverclyde, and what assessment it has made of fire service resilience across Scotland.

Consideration of the options for change included in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Service Delivery Review impacting Inverclyde have included extensive analysis of historic response data along with assessment of the current and future risks present in communities. No decisions have yet been taken on the conclusions of the Service Delivery Review. Decisions on the location of fire stations, the number of appliances and the crewing patterns of staff are operational matters for SFRS. SFRS continues to respond to every emergency with the appropriate level of resources.

Question reference: S6W-41653

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 November 2025
Current Status: Answered by Kaukab Stewart on 12 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting local organisations, such as Inverclyde Women’s Aid, to meet the needs of survivors of domestic abuse.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that survivors of domestic abuse receive the support they need. We recognise the vital role that local organisations, such as Inverclyde Women’s Aid, play in delivering frontline services and supporting women and children in their communities.

Through our Delivering Equally Safe fund, we are investing £21.6 million annually to tackle violence against women and girls. This includes a £2.4m uplift for 2025/26, ensuring all fund recipients can continue the vital work they undertake to prevent violence and support survivors. Of this total annual investment, £8.6 million is allocated to Women’s Aid organisations across Scotland with Inverclyde Women’s Aid receiving approximately £219,000 in 2025/26.

In addition, local organisations can access funding through the Victim Surcharge Fund. This fund allows any organisation of any size and in any location in Scotland, that support victims of crime including survivors of domestic abuse, to apply for a share of this Fund, which is financed by penalties imposed on offenders.

We also provide support through the Victim Centred Approach Fund which will deliver over £32 million to 23 organisations between 2025 and 2027, including £12 million for advocacy support for survivors of gender-based violence.

Question reference: S6W-41560

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on pupils' learning outcomes of any increasing reliance by local authorities on supply teachers, in light of the reported £1.6 million spend by Inverclyde Council on supply teachers in one year.

Supply teachers play an important role in ensuring continuity and quality in education by guaranteeing that any teacher's absence from the classroom can be covered, while also providing flexibility for teachers who choose to work part-time.

Like all teachers in Scotland, supply teachers are required to be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) and are therefore required to undertake professional learning and development in order to maintain their registration and uphold the high professional standards expected within the teaching profession.

Local Authorities carry the statutory responsibility for the delivery of Education in Scotland. It is therefore their responsibility to ensure they have planned for the adequate number of staff required during the academic year. To support them in this endeavour, the Scottish Government has provided them with £186.5m during this financial year to increase teacher numbers back to 2023 levels.

Question reference: S6W-41559

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 11 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce any local authority reliance on supply teachers, in light of reports that Inverclyde Council spent £1.6 million on supply teachers in one year.

We support the permanent employment of teachers by providing £186.5m to local authorities in 2025-26 to restore overall teacher numbers across the country to 2023 levels and maximise the number of teaching posts available. In addition, we are also providing Local Authorities with £28 million to support better outcomes for children with ASN including the recruitment and retention of the ASN workforce.

The recruitment of teachers including recruitment practices are matters for individual local authorities. The use of supply contracts is a long-standing feature of local authority recruitment practice.

Supply teachers play an important role in guaranteeing that any teacher's absence from the classroom can be covered, while also providing flexibility for teachers who choose to work part-time. It also serves as an opportunity for teachers seeking to re-enter the teaching profession after a break, as well as for retired teachers wishing to engage in part-time employment.

Question reference: S6W-40881

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 17 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the suggestion in the paper, Scotland’s Future High Streets The Scottish Retail Consortium’s Manifesto for Town and City Centres, that a directly elected Provost should be established for Glasgow to help drive economic growth in the city.

Growing our economy is one of this Government’s top priorities. Scotland’s regional economies, and Regional Economic Partnerships (REPs), are key to delivering this, and we are committed to enabling effective regional decision-making.

We have worked closely with Glasgow City Region’s REP to deliver significant regional investment, including through the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (EVIF), the £160 million Investment Zone, and the £2 million Maritime Skills programme.

In addition, the Scottish Government committed £500 million over 20 years to the main strand of the Glasgow City Region Deal, the Infrastructure Investment Fund, when it was signed in August 2014. The Deal has received £60 million (combined from the Scottish and UK Governments) for projects this financial year.

Funded projects are making significant progress across the region, with the Renfrew and Govan-Partick bridges opening and celebrating their respective millionth crossings. These new links connect communities, create opportunities, and have the potential to support over 1,400 jobs.

The Scottish Government is working with COSLA on the Local Governance Review to consider how powers and resources should be shared between national and local government and with communities. From the extensive engagement to date, there have been no specific proposals to introduce directly elected provosts.

If any changes were to be made to local government structures or governance arrangements, they would be informed by the views of local government. This is in line with the Scottish Government’s commitment to respecting local government’s democratic mandate, as set out in the Verity House Agreement.

Question reference: S6W-40880

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 17 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the suggestion in the paper, Scotland’s Future High Streets The Scottish Retail Consortium’s Manifesto for Town and City Centres, that a directly elected Police and Crime Commissioner be elected to replace the Scottish Police Authority.

The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) was created via the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 and is the primary governance body for policing in Scotland, holding the Chief Constable to account and to promote, support and oversee improvement in policing.

There are no plans to replace the SPA with another means to scrutinise policing in Scotland. In a report published last year, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Policing Scotland (HMICS) acknowledged considerable improvements in the governance of SPA and highlighted its effectiveness.

The 2012 Act has also improved local governance, ensuring each local authority can put in place a system which best meets their needs, requiring Police Scotland to involve individual local authorities in setting of priorities and objectives for the policing of its area, and take into account feedback received.

I fully acknowledge the work of the Scottish Retail Consortium in supporting its members when such businesses and their staff are victims of retail crime. The Scottish Government recognises the distress this kind of crime can cause and has made an additional £3 million available this year to help tackle it, as part of a record £1.64 billion investment in policing.

Question reference: S6W-40751

Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 25 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 9 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it (a) has had and (b) plans to have with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service regarding a review of processes and procedures, following the passing of section 29ZB in the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Chamber and committees